The treat for film buffs is the opportunity to tour the inside of the 150-year-old Potter School House, the last intact building used in the movie. It is a private residence now, but will be open Monday to benefit the local historical society and land trust. The cemetery and the inside of St. Teresa of Avila Church will also be included on the docent-led tours.

I've been inside the house several times since my company Murder on the Menu actually performed several events there, the most fun was a series of mystery events based on the film the Birds and the locale, that we did for a large car company who entertained journalists, racers and dealers during a week long road rally/meeting. Sonoma county is great for racing and touring.

Should you miss the three-day extravaganza, never fear: The Bodega Country Store features a huge collection of memorabilia every day of the week. You can’t miss its entrance, guarded as it is by a grumpy-faced mannequin of Hitchcock out front. I'm in Bodega Bay right now without my photo library in the cloud, so I don't have a photo of Frank with Alfred. There's a statue of Tippi presides over the interior, and I'd take a photo today if I didn't think the store will be swamped with tourists. The store, itself, is a repository of artifacts, photos and clippings that covers the store’s walls. A bookcase in the corner harbors a collection of books and laminated articles about the making of the film and various stars, along with guides to costal walks, all for the use of café patrons. Tippi Hedren was photographed visiting the store in 2011 to view the collection, wearing large diamond earrings in the shape of birds in flight. (I want these!)

**

In 1961, Alfred Hitchcock needed a remote coastal location for his next film. He had already shot one movie in the area: the 1942 thriller, “Shadow of a Doubt,” filmed in Santa Rosa. He needed a spot that would give him clear shots of sky, without interference from trees and mountains.

“The Birds” is based on a short story by Daphne DuMaurier. DuMaurier's story chronicles the struggles of a farmer and his family when murderous birds attack their English seashore village. Screenwriter Evan Hunter, whose credits include “The Blackboard Jungle” and “Last Summer,” changed the location to the California coast. The story immediately suggested a myriad of cinematic possibilities that stirred Hitchcock's creative instincts.

Financed by his successful television show and filmed with equipment borrowed from the Revue Studio, “The Birds” debuted as Hitchcock's first horror/fantasy film. It has come to be known as a precursor to modern horror movies and marks the first time cinematic animals acted in an organized attack on humans.

Hitchcock picked the towns of Bodega and Bodega Bay to serve as the setting for his thriller featuring Tippi Hedren, Jessica Tandy, Rod Taylor, Suzanne Pleshette and, of course, the birds. At the time, the special effects utilized were enough to thrill and frighten young and old, and the film continues to affect modern day viewers. Mechanical and live-trained birds were used in the film, along with optically altered film overlay of flying birds. The film took almost three years to complete before it was released in 1963.

Hitchcock chose the Bodega Bay area for the foggy weather and skyline, which at that time was subdued and open. When the time came for shooting, however, Hitchcock despaired at the clear and sunny skies.“It's a color film,” he said, “and I wanted it dark and gloomy. Now we'll have to subdue the color in the film lab.”

The ancient Potter School had already been condemned and abandoned as a schoolhouse when Hitchcock discovered it in Bodega. Film crews shored up and rebuilt it for the filming. With the exception of the gazebo featured in the party scene, the school is the only original building used in the film that still stands to this day. Huge papiermâché ravens were placed on every available surface. Great flocks of these imitation actors were wired to flap their wings for effect.

The school teacher's house next to the school was a facade built by the film crew for the filming. When birds kill Suzanne Pleshette's character, the Bodega Catholic Church can be seen in the film for a moment. A famous photograph by Ansel Adams has made the church well known beyond its appearance in “The Birds.”

Scouting around for a house that would do for the main characters, Hitchcock picked an abandoned bay side home owned by Rose Gaffney, a local rancher who had just achieved local notoriety in a successful crusade against PGE's proposed nuclear power plant. Gaffney's friend, Don Howe of Salmon Creek recalls, “A limousine pulled up to Rose Gaffney's house, and a messenger said that Mr. Hitchcock would like to speak to her.” Gaffney's reply was simple and blunt: “Who?”

The crew essentially built a different house around Gaffney's as well as some outbuildings. Its manicured yard appeared almost instantaneously when the crew rolled out the lawn and planted daffodils in full bloom. In the ‘60's, the road out to Bodega Head was unpaved past Mason's Marina. A dock was built for star Tippi Hedren to land her rented boat when she crossed the harbor to “Mitch's house.”Unfortunately, these structures burned down in the late sixties. They stood at the current location of the entrance to University of California Bodega Marine Laboratory dormitories.

The Tides Wharf Restaurant and parking lot in Bodega Bay were used for the gas station, cafe and boat dock scenes. (The gas station was blown up on a studio lot.) The Tides complex has been expanded and remodeled several times since then. When the 1960's owner of The Tides, Mitch Zankich, allowed Hitchcock to use the restaurant in “The Birds” he made three stipulations: the town in the movie would be called “Bodega Bay;” the male lead played by Rod Taylor would be named “Mitch;” and Zankich would receive a “speaking part.”If you're listening at the right moment, you can here him say those immortal words: “What happened, Mitch?”

In the years following the film's release, whenever the film was aired on television, The Tides called in extra staff the following day to accommodate the curious. Local Hazel Mitchell worked as a Tides waitress during the filming and waited on the famous director -- who only wanted “green beans and filet of sole and nothing else, Miss” - as well as the stars of the film. The waitress in the movie bears an uncanny resemblance to a youthful Hazel.

The other farmhouse where the farmer is killed in his home by birds was filmed at a ranch in Valley Ford. The scene that took place there was a typical example of Hitchcock's genius: when Jessica Tandy - after having discovered the farmer's body - drove off from the farm at breakneck speed, her panic was beautifully expressed in visual terms by the dust that flew up from the road. At the beginning of the scene, however, when she arrived there, the dust didn't fly up, because for that show Hitchcock had the road watered down. The original farmhouse is gone but the trees and driveway are the same. It was private then and remains so.

In one of the opening scenes, Tippi Hedren is driving into Bodega Bay on a winding scenic road above the town. Bay Hill Road can be found entering Highway One both north and south of town. At the north end, drive up about a mile until you can safely turn around, come back and park alongside the road and have a look. It's almost the very same scene that was filmed over 30 years ago.

Almost all of the inside scenes were recreated very specifically from the original buildings and shot on sound stages at Universal Studios. The exterior shots were filmed on location. Many of the aerial and faraway shots were painted mattes amplifying the size of the town.

There are still a lot of birds in Bodega Bay, and I'm up here for the festivities!

CWA John Creasey Dagger:
Something You Are by Hanna Jameson (Head of Zeus)
The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter by Malcolm Mackay (Mantle)
Norwegian by Night by Derek B Miller (Faber and Faber)
Shadow of the Rock by Thomas Mogford (Bloomsbury)

CWA Chair Alison Joseph commented: “These 2013 CWA Dagger shortlists are all about inspirational story-telling and great writing. They show, once again, just why this genre continues to be so hugely popular and so greatly loved by readers.”

The Wrap TV reports that Paul Giamatti, the Sideways actor, has signed on to star in the drama pilot "Hoke" on FX. Giamatti will play Hoke Moseley, a "hard-boiled and possibly insane" homicide detective in pre-chic Miami, circa 1985.

Billed as a "darkly comedic drama," the pilot is billed on Charles
Willeford's series of novels, which includes "Sideswipe," "New Hope for
the Dead" and "The Way We Die Now." Production is slated to begin later
this year in Miami.

I'm loving Silk, starring Maxine Peake. What a great production: terrific acting and storyline. I'm really not all that familiar with the ins and outs of British law and barristers, but I'm getting an education.

Check your local PBS listings for Masterpiece's Silk. Sunday night here in the Bay Area at 9 p.m. Here's a scene from Part 2!

The organizers of the project are the subway authority, online educational company Hujiang.com and the Aizhi bookstore, which has 20 locations at stations along Main Line 2.

China Daily said the program launched officially on August 18 and "has been a resounding success with office workers. Waiting lines have developed during rush hour."

One Aizhi bookseller said, "Most people returned the books after reading, and many left a coin for our charity initiative." Another commented: "Even if some books are not returned, we believe the overall benefit is worthwhile."

The Prizes will be administered by WNBA-NOLA,
the New Orleans chapter of the Women’s National Book Association. The
national group was founded in 1917. The local chapter was founded in
2011, and Diana Pinckley was a founding member.

The prizes will be presented for the first time at the 2014 Tennessee
Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival and will honor two women. The Pinckley Prize for Achievement in Crime Fiction
will honor an established writer who has created a significant body of
work; the winner will be nominated and selected by a jury of writers and
critics. Winners will receive both a financial award and a trip to the Tennessee Williams Festival. The Pinckley Prize for Debut Novel will honor a first-time novelist in adult crime fiction; entry forms must accompany all books.

Register now
and be entered into a contest for a copy of International Guest of
Honor Louise Penny's latest mystery How the Light Gets In (winner will
be chosen from randomly generated number)Come early. Stay late! Sea and Sand...Calamari Crime.Innovative Programming in Noir, Thriller, Historical, Cozy, and just about everything Mystery! Champagne Awards Luncheon, Opening Reception and special events!

A stamp issued for the 100th anniversary of Dr. Seuss’s birth showed him
(in a 1987 photo) with characters from four of his books--ABOVE: (l. to r.):
the Cat in the Hat (1957), the Grinch from How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1957), the Glotz (or perhaps a Klotz) from Oh Say Can You Say? (1979), and the Skritz, the anonymous “young fellow,” and the Skrink from I Had Trouble Getting to Solla Sollew (1965). The stamp pane border showed fish from One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish (1960).

2006: Favorite Children’s Book Animals series

Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web (1952), illus. by Garth Williams

Curious George from Curious George Flies a Kite (1958), illus. by H.A. Rey

A Wild Thing from Where the Wild Things Are (1963), illus. by Maurice Sendak

Fox from Fox in Socks (1965), illus. by Dr. Seuss

Frederick from Frederick (1967), illus. by Leo Lionni

The caterpillar from The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1969), illus. by Eric Carle

CRIME writer Ian Rankin has revealed he is taking a year off work
because of health fears, just weeks after the death of his close friend
and fellow author Iain Banks.Rankin, 53, told an event at the Edinburgh International
Book Festival he is “knackered and shattered” ahead of the release of
his latest Inspector Rebus novel and the premiere of his first stage
play.

He said he had been shaken by good friends such as Banks
and Gavin Wallace, long-time head of literature at the Scottish Arts
Council, “dropping dead”.

The book festival has already held a
special event to pay tribute to Wallace, who joined the arts council in
1997 and became one of the most widely respected figures in the Scottish
literary scene.

And Fife-born Rankin is taking part in a special event
to honour Banks’ literary legacy at the festival on Sunday.

Asked
at his own event what his plans were for 2014, Rankin said: “I’m going
to have a year off next year. I’m knackered, basically. Bluntly, I’m
just shattered. I need the batteries recharging big-time.” He went on: “The kids are on the cusp of leaving home or have left home.

“Friends of mine are dropping dead. Gavin Wallace dropped dead at the age of 53 earlier this year. I’m 53. Then of course Iain Banks was taken from us at the age of 59.

“I don’t want to die slumped over my desk. So I’m taking a year off next year and doing some travelling.”

Rankin
also spoke about the death less than two years ago of another close
friend, singer-songwriter and fellow Fifer Jackie Leven, whose songs
have inspired the titles of his last two books. “He was largely than
life; he was a troubadour. He had a whole host of stories and was a
great guitarist,” he said.

“We were supposed to be doing an event
together at the Belfast Festival and he was replaced at the last minute
by a friend of his who told me he was very ill. I rang Jackie’s manager
and he told me he had three days left to live.”

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Don't miss Silk on PBS Masterpiece. Starts this Sunday, August 25 - September 8! Check local listings. Three episodes of six high-stakes cases. Two rival barristers, one an idealistic defense lawyer, Martha Costello
(Maxine Peake), and the other a ruthless prosecutor, Clive Reader
(Rupert Penry-Jones), compete for the prestigious appointment as Queen's
Counsel in three episodes of high-stakes cases and the rivalry,
tension, and intrigue on the front lines of criminal law.

Iconic American Crime Fiction writer Elmore Leonard has died at the age of 87. So long, Dutch!

From the Detroit News:

Surrounded by family, Leonard died at 7:15
a.m. Tuesday at his Bloomfield Village home from complications of a
stroke. He had been hospitalized since suffering the stroke in early
August.

A worldly former advertising man,
Leonard had a particular gift for the snappy, visceral dialogue of the
street and of the cop shop. He started out writing Westerns in his spare
time from his work as a Detroit ad man, but he lived long enough that
his name became a byword for tightly written urban noirs shot through
with mordant humor.

He was so admired by
the crew of “Justified,” the F/X series based upon his novella “Fire in
the Hole,” that they wore bracelets emblazoned “WWED” (for “What would
Elmore do?).

The writer also particularly
got a kick out of “Justified,” based on his novella “Fire in the Hole,”
and was inspired to write a novel, “Raylan,” in 2012, about the title
character.

Leonard never let up on his work
schedule, writing longhand on unlined legal pads. He ordered a thousand
of the writing pads a year.

“He’s very much into his 46th novel,” Sutter said when Leonard was first hospitalized. “He’s been working very hard.”

In November, the National Book Foundation honored Leonard with its medallion, an award saluting lifetime achievement.

In
Leonard’s colorful world of dumb but entertaining crooks and bemused
cops, there was always more than a whiff of postwar seediness and
amorality. That blend of violence and comedy could often produce
wonderful films.

Some movies based upon
Leonard works include “Hombre” (starring Paul Newman), “Get Shorty,”
“Out of Sight” and “Jackie Brown” (based upon his “Rum Punch”).

Leonard was born in New Orleans, but his family moved around in the
South before ending up in Detroit in 1934, when he was 9 years old. He
attended the Blessed Sacrament School on Belmont in Detroit and was
teased about his Southern accent. “The kids used to say, ‘Say, “sugar
chile,” for me.’ I'd say, ‘Why are they asking me that?’ ”

He
majored in English at the University of Detroit, graduating in 1950,
then plunged into an advertising career in Detroit in the 1950s.

Famously,
Leonard started writing Western-themed novels from 5-7 a.m. at home
before going to work at the Campbell-Ewald agency, where Chevrolet
trucks was one of his accounts. He developed a ferocious work ethic,
writing every day in a cinder block basement office that son Peter
described as looking like a prison cell.

After
he quit advertising, he kept up the discipline in his monk-like office,
writing from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. without a lunch break.

Today I welcome Partners in Crime: J.J. Lamb and Bette Golden Lamb. Bette Golden Lamb, a feisty ex-Bronxite, writes crime novels and
plays with clay. Her sculptures and other artistic creations appear in
exhibitions, galleries, and stores. She also hangs out with her 50+ rose
bushes, or sneaks out to movies when she should be writing. Being an RN is a
huge clue as to why she writes medical thrillers. J. J. Lamb intended to become an aeronautical engineer/pilot, but
was seduced by journalism. An AP career was interrupted by the Army, which gave
him a Top Secret clearance; a locked
room with table, chair, and typewriter; and the time to write short stories. A
paperback PI series followed, then collaboration with Bette. The Lambs, who live in Northern
California, have co-authored four medical thrillers - Bone Dry, Sisters in Silence, Sin & Bone, and Bone Pit - and a suspense-adventure-romance
novel, Heir Today. They are members
of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller
Writers. Website: www.twoblacksheep.us

J.J. LAMB and BETTE GOLDEN LAMB:

There’s a story behind the story about the publication last month of Bone Pit, our third co-authored RN Gina Mazzio medical thriller.

You see, when we wrote the first Gina book, Bone Dry, we were determined that it would be a standalone. It was our first published collaborative novel, and our plan was to keep writing standalones. The idea of getting involved in a series just didn’t appeal to either of us. Much too restrictive.

What we envisioned was to alternate between a Bette idea and a J.J. idea. That way we would know automatically whose name would come first on the front cover of each novel, and elsewhere. No hassles.

It was a good idea … that lasted through the first two books.

Our second book, Heir Today…, a combination suspense-adventure-romance novel, was based on an actual experience we’d had with an heir tracer.

We decided our protagonists would be a husband-wife team, both journalists, and that the plot would be built around a rogue maritime sea captain and a treasure hunt that turns into an international adventure of intrigue, courage, death, and revenge.

J. J. took the lead on this one because of his background as a journalist, and his several years of writing about the maritime industry.

There we were: two books on the shelf with each of us having a lead byline.

Bette, an RN, was now hot to do another medical thriller. But while she was busy looking for a theme, J.J. talked her into building a thriller around the thriving fertility industry. Bette then created an off-the-wall fertility counselor with a deadly mission to carry the book. For some reason, though, J.J.’s name ended up first on the cover.

The byline thing wasn’t a big deal by now. But early on, it might have been.

The collaboration thing was a new experience for J.J., who’d always flown solo for both fiction and non-fiction. And for the feisty ex-Bronxite, fiction writing was new to her despite a huge creative streak that produced numerous professional paintings and sculptures.

To get into the swing of writing collaboration, we tried a number of approaches, including writing alternate chapters, adopting certain characters, specializing in specific situations, and various combinations of these. The best approach worked out to be one where the “concept” person writes the first draft, with close consultation on plot development and characterizations coming from the other partner. Then we swap places for the second draft.

The final version comes from sitting down side by side at the key board and going through the entire ms., from the first word to the final period.

Despite our satisfaction with the three standalones, we missed Gina Mazzio, our very first protagonist … and so did many of our readers.
A sequel to Bone Dry? Well why not. But a series? No way.

In that first book, Gina’s nemesis was a despicable couple who were stealing, and holding for ransom, autologous bone marrow used as a treatment for near-death cancer patients.

In our “sequel,” Sin & Bone, Gina starts delving into the mysterious disappearance of hospital nurses. Before anyone can yell “stat,” she’s caught up in the dangerous, and often deadly, trade in human body parts.

And we were hooked.

Now, in the recently released Bone Pit, Gina decides that after two attempts on her life, it’s time to take a much-needed break from hospital nursing. So off she goes on a travel nurse assignment with her travel nurse fiancé, Harry.

But there’s no vacation for her in the wilds of northern Nevada’s gold country. They uncover a plot by the administrator of the Alzheimer’s rehab facility to falsify clinical test results for an experimental drug scheduled for FDA approval.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Lee Thompson Young, who starred in Disney’s “The Famous Jett
Jackson” and most-recently in TNT’s “Rizzoli & Isles,” has died. He was 29.

Young’s body was discovered by his landlord, according to TMZ,
after his co-stars from “Rizzoli & Isles” requested someone check
in on the actor when he did not show up for work. His death appeared to
be a suicide, TMZ reports.

“It is with great sadness that I announce that Lee Thompson Young
tragically took his own life this morning," longtime manager Jonathan
Baruch said in a statement. “Lee was more than just a brilliant young
actor, he was a wonderful and gentle soul who will be truly missed. We
ask that you please respect the privacy of his family and friends as
this very difficult time.”

The South Carolina native got his big break when he starred as the
title character in “The Famous Jett Jackson” from 1998 to 2001. He then
appeared in the Disney flick “Johnny Tsunami.” Young also appeared on the TV shows “Smallville” and “Scrubs.” He played detective Barry Frost on “Rizzoli & Isles.”

Friday, August 16, 2013

HMSS Weblog had a post and link to this great episode of To Tell the Truth from 1964 with John Le Carre. Rather than post Le Carre's photo.. play along with Kitty Carlisle, Tom Posten, Orson Bean and Peggy Cass. This was before the film of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold came out (1965). Le Carre's novel came out in 1964. David Cornwell aka John Le Carre appears in the second segment.

Thursday, August 15, 2013

The Bouchercon Schedule has just been posted! Hats off to the programming folks! Looks exciting.

I'll be at Bouchercon 2013 in Albany. Love to meet you. I'll be giving out the Macavity Awards on Thursday night. Check the schedule for location.

I'll also be moderating a panel from 1:50-2:45 p.m. State of Grace: How Not to Go Crazy on Tour with panelists: Donna Andrews, Jenny Milchman, Boyd Morrison, M.J. Rose, and Steve Ulfelder. I know this will be entertaining and fun.. Hope you'll stop by.. and stay! We're up against some other great (and funny) panels.

Here's the link to the Panel Schedule. All programming is subject to change.http://bcon2013.com/schedule/

The Danish film The Keeper of Lost Causes, based on the novel by Jussi Adler-Olsen, directed by Mikkel Norgaard and adapted to screen by Nikolaj Arcel, will open in Danish theatres October 3. No US distributor or release date yet, but check out the other countries, including the UK that will have it soon.

THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES is the first film in the upcoming franchise
based on the bestselling book series about Department Q by author Jussi
Adler-Olsen. TrustNordisk has already closed a large number of presales
and currently THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES has been sold to more than 30
countries including key territories such as Germany, Benelux,
Switzerland, Australia, UK and China.

Starring Nikolaj Lie Kaas
(ANGELS & DEMONS, 2009) and Fares Fares (SAFE HOUSE, 2012 and ZERO
DARK THIRTY, 2013) THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES tells the story of chief
detective Carl Mørck and his assistant Assad who become involved in a
five-year-old case concerning the mystery of politician Merete
Lynggaard’s disappearance - a journey that takes them deep into the
undercurrent of abuse and malice that lurks beneath the polished surface
of Scandinavia.

THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES is directed by Mikkel
Nørgaard (KLOWN, 2010) with screenplay by Nikolaj Arcel who wrote and
directed A ROYAL AFFAIR (2012) and who also wrote the script for THE
GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2009).

Don't forget to watch or set your DVR for The Lady Vanishes Sunday, August 18, on PBS Masterpiece. Check local listings for time.

The Lady Vanishes packs in the suspense
and style when Iris Carr, a beautiful young socialite traveling alone,
befriends a kindly English middle-aged woman but wakes from a nap to
find her missing – and all the strangers surrounding her denying that
the woman was ever there at all! This closed-door mystery classic
investigates the question of madness and isolation set among
increasingly sinister passengers and a train barreling through Europe
toward a dangerous and dizzying final destination: the truth.

With a nod to Alfred Hitchcock's 1938 adaptation and a return to the book that started it all (Ethel White's The Wheel Spins), The Lady Vanishes stars Tuppence Middleton (Inspector Lewis, "Down Among the Fearful"), Tom Hughes (Page Eight), Keeley Hawes (Upstairs Downstairs), Gemma Jones (The Duchess of Duke Street), and Alex Jennings (Cranford).

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Today I welcome Swedish author Åsa Schwarz. Åsa Schwarz is a contemporary Swedish novelist best known for writing about crime, horror and mysticism. With a degree in Computer System Sciences and a career as an Information Security Consultant, Schwarz creates plots featuring realistic cyber-attacks and digitally street-smart characters.
Schwarz made her literary debut in 2005. Since then she has written five critically acclaimed novels. Her stories stand out due to her thorough characterizations and her mix of mystical legends with symbolic puzzles while set in a contemporary city environment. Her novels have been translated into nearly twenty languages and published in four continents. She resides with her husband and two children in Stockholm, Sweden.

Åsa Schwarz:

One day I got an e-mail that would change my life.

It contained a link from my friend Carin about The Nephilim. According to the web site, they were a mixture between human beings and fallen angels, and they are supposed to have been swept away by the Flood. What a novel this could be, wrote Carin. Sure, I thought. But someone else will have to write it. I couldn't see a story angle that interested me enough to want to sit down in front of the computer and start writing.

Days went by and I continued groping among ideas for a story line. I began outlining a novel, only to discard it the following day. I searched for stimulus at libraries and museums, but didn't get any impulses leading anywhere. To say that I was suffering from writer's block would be misleading. I didn't even have a clue what my novel was going to be about.
One night the news was buzzing in the background while I cooked dinner. I remember it distinctly. I was expecting my first child and thus continually slightly nauseous, so I had to force myself to chop chicken for the wok. I only wanted to eat mozzarella.

I heard the newscaster say that the UN climate change panel had published a report detailing how much the sea level had already risen. They estimated that the sea level would rise a further few decimeters before 2099. Nobody knew exactly what the consequences of global warming would be, but one thing was certain - there would be a catastrophy.

The sea level is rising, I thought. The sea level is rising. Why did that sound familiar? Where had I read about great bodies of water recently? Suddenly the penny dropped. Carin's e-mail. The Nephilim. The Flood. The world is submerged under water. Is a new Flood on its way? What if The Nephilim weren't swept away by the first Flood? What if they are right here, right now - among us?

Now everything fell into place with astonishing speed. I placed a willful environmentalist in the Old Town of Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. With its 15th century houses, old churches, and remnants of old monasteries, this part of town was irresistible. And I named the environmentalist Nova Barakel. She was nineteen years old with a background not even she herself had an inkling of.

I began writing the story at furious speed. Nova breaks into the home of the CEO of Sweden's largest energy company in order to spray paint slogans on the walls. Now one of the greatest of environmental villains will finally get what he deserves. But someone has beaten her to it. In the bedroom she finds the flat's owner brutally murdered, in what looks like a tableau from hell.

She flees the scene but unwittingly leaves forensic evidence behind and is soon a prime suspect with the police. She tries to find out who the murderer is and why he or she seems to be killing people off from her own list of environmental villains. The questions multiply. Why are there constant references to the Flood and Noah's Ark? Who has searched Nova's home? Was her mother's death really an accident? Who is trying to frame Nova for the murders?

I have to stop now, in order not to spoil the story for you. But now, a few years later, the United States is the nineteenth country in which the book is published and I am very curious to see what kind of reception it will get. At the moment of writing I realize that it's been far too long since I visited the museums and shops of New York, the pier in Chicago, and the hills of San Francisco. Hope to see you soon.

Have an enjoyable read!

***

In her first novel to be launched in America, Nephilim
(Stockholm Text, August 15th 2013, $14.95 paperback, $6.99 ebook),
Swedish crime novelist Åsa Schwarz delivers a page-turning thriller where a
mythical conspiracy battles against environmental criminals.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Very sad news. I have such fond memories of Barbara from her participation at Malice Domestic. She was so witty, funny, sharp and supportive. She will be remembered through her wonderful novels.

From William Morrow:

It is with great sadness we relay the news that our beloved author, Barbara Mertz, (a.k.a. Elizabeth Peters) passed away this morning at the age of 85.

Under her pseudonym as Barbara Michaels she has written twenty-nine novels of suspense. As Elizabeth Peters, she had produced more than 35 mystery-suspense novels, many of them set in Egypt and the Middle East, featuring the intrepid Amelia Peabody. Under her own name, she authored several nonfiction books about ancient Egypt, still in print today.

The NYT reports that a short story by the 17-year-old Stieg Larsson will be published in
English for the first time next year, possibly enticing fans of the
best-selling Millennium trilogy that was released after Mr. Larsson’s
death in 2004.

The unpublished story is part of a new anthology of crime fiction, A
Darker Shade of Sweden, scheduled for release in February. Mysterious
Press, an imprint of Grove Atlantic, announced on Tuesday that it had
acquired the collection.

The anthology collects stories from 20 Swedish writers, including
Henning Mankell, Asa Larsson, Maj Sjowall, Per Wahloo and Sara
Stridsberg. Eva Gabrielsson, Mr. Larson’s companion, has also written a
story that will be published in the collection.

I collect mystery reference books, and I imagine many of you reading this column do as well. So I was thrilled to see J. Kingston Pierce's article in Kirkus yesterday: Just the Facts, Ma'am: Referencing Books Worth Preserving. Nice to note that I have all the books he mentions!

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Today I welcome my friend author/editor Robert Weibezahl. Robert Weibezahl is the author of two crime novels featuring
screenwriter-sleuth Billy Winnetka -- The Wicked and the Dead and The Dead Don't Forget -- and a number of short stories, including the Derringer
Award finalist "Identity Theft," which appears in the anthology Deadly by the Dozen. His two literary cookbooks/anthologies--A Taste of Murder
and A Second Helping of Murder, co-edited with Jo Grossman, were both
finalists for the Agatha and Macavity Awards. A columnist for "BookPage"
since 2002, his work has also appeared in the "Los Angeles Daily News,"
"Los Angeles Reader," "Ventura County Star, "Mystery Readers Journal,"
"Bikini," "Irish America," and many other national and regional
publications.

Robert Weibezahl:At the Intersection of Hollywood and Crime

Hollywood has a notorious love affair with crime – not only on screen, but off. Soon after the film industry settled in Los Angeles, high profile crimes and misdemeanors began to capture the public’s imagination. The list of not-quite-resolved cases involving murder and mayhem seems endless. In the 1920s, director William Desmond Taylor was found shot in the back in his bungalow, his murderer never found; actor Fatty Arbuckle was acquitted of rape and manslaughter, the final verdict a ruined career; Thomas H. Ince died aboard William Randolph Hearst’s yacht, allegedly of a heart attack, but many believe Hearst killed him in a jealous rage over actress Marian Davies. The cold cases continue through the decades: actors Thelma Todd and George Reeves—official suicides, but perhaps murders? Bob Crane was bludgeoned to death, the weapon and the killer who wielded it never found. Robert Blake and O.J. Simpson were the only viable suspects in the murders of their respective wives, but both walked away free men (and, under similar circumstances, Phil Spector nearly did as well). The official investigation into Natalie Wood’s mysterious death was recently reopened some thirty years after the fact. Even the Tinseltown murders where the culprits are known—the deaths of Phil Hartman, Sharon Tate, Rebecca Schaeffer, Dorothy Stratten, and Sal Mineo come to mind—continue to carry a peculiar taint, marred by unseemly details.

While the murders in my mystery series featuring screenwriter cum amateur sleuth Billy Winnetka are wholly inventions, I confess that I probably tap into the thirst we all seem to have for celebrity crime. The first book in the series, The Wicked and the Dead, found Billy searching for the killer behind a series of (at first) seemingly unrelated deaths. The newly published second installment, The Dead Don’t Forget, involves death threats aimed at a mostly forgotten actress from an earlier era. Who would wish to harm a seemingly harmless old woman? Well, in Hollywood, grudges run deep. Beyond the murders that drive my plots, the books aim to capture some of peculiarities of the film industry, in which I once worked. The company-town mentality that can motivate much of what happens behind the scenes in Hollywood is very specific to the town and the business. In a world where appearances are everything, and nearly every man or woman is out for him/herself, crime can take on an ugly flavor all its own.

The series is also very much of its place – Los Angeles: its car culture, with choked freeways and secret surface street short cuts, its soundtrack provided by the car radio; a diverse population where class is often divided along ethnic lines; a flawed paradise where dreamers come and sometimes find spectacular success, yet more often do not. How much is “Hollywood” an accurate reflection of the real L.A.? To a wider culture that grants celebrity primacy of place, L.A. can seem like a fictional version of a major American metropolis. But, for folks like Billy, who live and work there, it is a real place, not a painted backdrop. True, after decades of literally being used as just such a backdrop in countless films and television show, the idea of L.A. is hard to cast off. And some of those same movies and shows have, for better or worse, had an impact on crime – how we perceive it, solve it, prosecute it, and, perhaps, even how we perpetrate it. Let’s not forget that the term noir first came from the movies.

Monday, August 5, 2013

Jane Cleland won the David Award this weekend for Dolled Up for Murder (Minotaur Books). The David Award, named in honor of David G. Sasher, is given out annually at the Deadly Ink Conference
to honor the best mystery published during the prior year.